Thanksgiving Star Class Cruise on Allure of the Seas Was Awesome!

[Lukn2cruise]

Our family decided to take a cruise for Thanksgiving this year and do something different. We booked last year so it was decided a while ago. However this was our first ever cruise on Royal Caribbean and did Star Class so that we could all stay in the same room. I had read a lot about Star Class before going and all the comments and i read helped a lot so i hope my short review will help others.

 

We arrived at the port and gave our luggage to the Star Class porter and was taken inside. Once inside we met our Genie Marla who took us over to the check in counter. This was probably the most hectic part as the agent behind the counter was either new or not very good at her job as it took us longer than it should have especially when i had completed all the check in stuff online. Nonetheless we got through it and headed to the ship.

 

The ship itself is very big and amazing. It was truly like a small city on the ocean. Our room still needed about 20 minutes before it was ready so we just headed to Sabor to get something to eat and that was the only time we ate there as we were not impressed at all. Not sure if it was just to early for them or it just wasn't that good.

 

Before leaving we did send our Genie Marla our request for our welcome meal, show and meal request, drink request as well as our evening snack delivery request. When we got to our room we had the welcome meal with all the items that we had requested for the 7 of us that were in the suite, our cups were waiting and all our drink options were there and there was even brought in a cooler for extra drinks to keep them cold. Marla came by to go over our benefits and what to expect with Star Class, she is truly an amazing person with a very professional attitude and a very personable character, we were very pleased with her.

 

The room was very spacious with lots of storage space and the balcony was bigger than i even expected becasue the pictures only can do so much. The one thing i didn't like about the room was with the 2 bedrooms that the doors did not lock in anyway which with so many people in the room it kinda kills the privacy aspect.

 

You get so much with Star Class you truly feel like royalty. We had front row seats at the shows and since we could eat at the specialty restaurants we did not eat in the MDR at all. We had breakfast on the balcony and since it was a Thanksgiving cruise we had Thanksgiving Dinner on the balcony as well. The food at the specialty restaurants was good and Chops and Izumi were our favorites. The chef at Izumi Hibachi was every entertaining and engaging. Chops has a really good tender steak. We also like Giovanni's as we done the family style dining where they bring out several dishes on the menu for us to try.

 

We had the opportunity to do the Galley and Bridge tour which they were both awesome to see the inner workings and behind the scenes of the operations and to ask questions to the crew on the bridge about the operation of the ship itself.

 

We also ate at Coastal Kitchen which is a really relaxing place to hang out and just enjoy some quiet time with a drink, snacks or a meal.

 

Star Class really comes with a lot of perks and is truly a great way to cruise. Literally the Genie tries to accomodate you with anything you ask for within reason and if you ever have an issue with anyone or anything venue on the ship, just let your Genie know and she/he will get it resolved. Some things to note that if you are booking Star Class and would like a cabana in Labadee, make sure you let your Genie know as soon as you received your email from them becasue you can't reserved online. Also the cost will be added to your cruise account so you will pay for it at the end with all your other charges. Another thing is the seapass cards they give you will have a silver barcode which do not work in the arcades, the machinces only read the black barcodes. If you have kids that will use their seapass card for the arcade and you are star class you will need to have your genie print the cards with a black barcode.

 

There is a lot to express about the ship and star class that there is a lot i am leaving out that i am probably not thinking about so if you have questions please do ask and I will do my best to answer.

[jasper15]

Sounds amazing!

We are sailing Star Class for the first time on Ovation but it isn't for another 12 months. Fortunately I have another two cruises booked between now and then.

 

Did you get priority disembarkation at the ports? If so, were you booked on excursions with Royal or did you take private tours?

Also wondering the age range of your family? TIA :)

[Clarea]

Nice report, thanks!

[Lukn2cruise]

Sounds amazing!

We are sailing Star Class for the first time on Ovation but it isn't for another 12 months. Fortunately I have another two cruises booked between now and then.

 

Did you get priority disembarkation at the ports? If so, were you booked on excursions with Royal or did you take private tours?

Also wondering the age range of your family? TIA :)

 

You will love Star Class, I know it is a little different for each ship since the each ship offers different things. I am booked on Symphony for 2019 in Star Class also but looking for another one for 2018. We only did priority disembarkation in Labadee. We had reserved a beach front cabana there and our Genie walked us off the ship and right to our Cabana. We only did one excursion in Jamaica which was the tubing adventure and we booked it through Royal, it was tubing down a 3 mile long river with some mild rapids that took about an hour to complete, it was like a lazy river on steroids since it was an actual river not man made. The people in my party consisted mostly of adult children, with my youngest being 10 and everyone else 17-23 then there is my wife and I.